


The Chemistry Experiment

by dreadpiratewatson



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Chemistry, Established Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, John Loves Sherlock, Johnlock Fluff, M/M, Protective Greg, Science, Sherlock Holmes and Experiments, Sherlock Holmes and Science, Sherlock Interacting with Children, Sherlock Loves John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-23 15:04:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3772714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreadpiratewatson/pseuds/dreadpiratewatson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock is bored and needs a case, but there are no juicy murders for him to solve. However, when Lestrade's daughter needs homework help in his favorite subject, how could he refuse?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Chemistry Experiment

"How can he  _not_ have a case for me?" 

"Sherlock, you've just solved three in about a week." 

"But I _need_ a case, John!" 

"Sherlock,  _relax._ I'm sure Greg will-" 

"Who?" 

"Lestrade, you idiot." 

Sherlock Holmes was grumpier than normal. This was more than his usual post-case sulk, this was obnoxious boredom that crawled it's way through his brilliant mind palace and made the walls crack and crumble in every possible corner while he sat by waiting for something fun to happen. He had solved three separate murder cases in a week, leaving him at an all time high for a couple of days, which made the crash ten times worse. So, for the second time in eighteen hours, Sherlock and John made their way to New Scotland Yard to speak with Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade. 

The Yard was frightfully busy for a Thursday, but that only made the detective's determination greater. He and his army doctor (though most of the department were oblivious to their relationship) trudged across the shiny white linoleum floors to the upstairs offices where they knew Lestrade would be. Of course, Sally had a snide comment to make, and Anderson just sent a dirty look, but for once, Sherlock ignored them both. 

Sherlock burst into the office, startling Greg, who was bent over a file on his desk. "Don't waste my time, please, just tell me you have a case for me." He half growled in the DI's face. 

Greg's mouth fell open. "Sherlock, I told you-" 

"People die every day, Lestrade, there needs to be  _something."_

"Sherlock!" John complained, pulling his boyfriend away from the desk to glare at him. "Sorry, Greg, he's just a little..." John fought to find a word to describe the detective, but couldn't find one.

Greg just waved it off. "I've dealt with it for a few years, it's nothing I'm not used to." He leaned back in his desk chair and sighed. "Look, Sherlock, as much as I'd love to give you a case, there isn't one. Nothing you'd be interested it at least." 

The detective groaned. "There has to be-" 

"Sorry it took so long, the coffee downstairs was rubbish so I went across the street to- Oh!" Came a soft voice from the doorway. The three men turned to see a young woman with long platinum blonde hair standing on the doorway of Lestrade's office, holding two Starbucks coffees in her hands. She gave a smile and stepped back. "Sorry, should I-" 

Greg shook his head and waved her over. "No, no, it's alright. Sherlock, John, this is my daughter, Morgan. Half day today and there are people repairing the kitchen floor, so she's here with me." He said, gesturing to the pretty blonde in the doorway. "Morgan, this is Sherlock Holmes and-" 

"Dr. John Watson, I know." She said, putting one of the coffee cups down to shake his hand. "I read your blog, I'm a huge fan of both of you." 

John grinned and shook her hand. "Oh, well thank you."  

No one in the room missed Sherlock's over-dramatic eye roll as he slumped down in one of the chairs. 

Morgan set the coffee cup down on Lestrade's desk. "Got your favorite." She said. 

"Thank you, darling. Did you finish your work?" 

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Working on it, dad." She turned and sat down in a chair in the corner of the room. There was a back pack and a binder at her feet which she picked up and began to work out of, ignoring the rest of them. 

Sherlock, who was rather irritated already, groaned. "How can there not be a case?" 

John and Greg both sighed. "Oh, Sherlock." The doctor sighed. 

Then there was a knock at the door, and Sally Donovan stepped into the room with a glare in Sherlock's direction. "Sir, Reeves got punched, can I borrow you and Dr. Watson for a minute?" She asked. 

Greg looked to the army doctor who shrugged. "We'll be back, Sherlock, try not to make a mess." He warned. 

The detective huffed, waving his boyfriend's request off. 

Once alone in the room, he tried to close his eyes and focus on anything that could be worth while, but the attempt was short lived. There was no point. 

"Are you any good at chemistry?" Came Morgan's soft voice from behind him. 

Sherlock's eyes snapped open and he turned to face her. She was staring down at her binder full of work, chewing on the end of a pen. The detective looked her over. _Seventeen, bright for her age, plays football, has an unfortunate case of ADHD, two dogs, a tomato allergy, and a girlfriend that Lestrade doesn't know about._

Morgan looked up at him. "Are you?" 

"Sorry, what?" 

"Are you any good at chemistry?" She repeated apologetically. 

"I'm phenomenal at chemistry, why?" 

She gave him a soft smile. "I could use some help." 

Sherlock got to his feet and walked back to the chair she sat in. "What are you doing?" He asked, making her turn her page around for him to see. He hovered over her chair and scanned the paper, recognizing everything on the page. 

"I know how to balance them, but I have no idea what these chemicals do." She said, gesturing to the page. 

The wheels in the detective's head turned, and he came up with an idea. Sherlock looked up at the DI's daughter and smirked. "Would you like to?" 

Morgan did a double take, but promptly grinned. "Hell, yes." 

***

The case had just come in. Famous journalist found dead in her home With no sign of forced entry. Just what Sherlock needed. After finishing up with the cop's broken nose, John and Greg went scampering back to the office with the case file, hoping to surprise Sherlock with it. 

"Could the timing be any better?" Greg was saying as they half-jogged to the office. 

John shook his head. "Came in at a great time. He gets so bitchy when he's bored." 

The DI laughed. "Is it bad that we're excited about this?" He asked. 

"Morally, probably, but given the circumstances, who gives a shit?" The two men were still laughing when they pushed open the door, only to find it empty. "Sherlock?" John called. 

Greg scoffed. "Leave it to Sherlock to disappear just when something interesting happens." He threw the file on his desk, but found a piece of paper sitting in its' place. 

John sighed. "He's probably harassing Anderson or something." 

"John." Greg said flatly. "Morgan left with Sherlock." 

The doctor whipped around in confusion. "What?" The DI held out the piece of paper in his hand, his face a mix of concern and shock. John had to read it twice to understand. _Gone with Sherlock for homework help. No clue where we're going, but he seems cool. See you soon! -Morgan_

The two men looked up at eachother, completely stunned. "John. My daughter is with Sherlock." Greg whispered. "A very bored Sherlock. What the hell could he be showing her? I swear to god, if he's showing her-" 

John shook his head. "No, not even Sherlock is that stupid." He argued. His boyfriend was... Eccentric, to say the least, but he wasn't stupid. He knew better. "I mean, what was she working on when we left?" 

Greg thought for a moment, biting his lip nervously. "Um... Chemistry. She kept asking me questions, but I was rubbish at chemistry, so I had no idea." He replied. 

John automatically smirked. "I know exactly where they are." He said. "Come on." 

They took a cab to Bart's. Greg was still weary of the whole situation, but followed the army doctor without hesitation through the hallways, all the way up to the labs where John knew in his heart that Sherlock would be. He found the detective's favorite lab and pushed open the door. Both the doctor and the Detective Inspector were stunned by what they saw. 

Sherlock Holmes was standing in front of the counter beside Morgan Lestrade, boiling chemicals and mixing things together. He was giving her a lesson, explaining the process, and when it came time, he let her pour them into a seperate beaker. He pulled her away and they watched with excitement when the mixture bubbled and turned colors. Morgan was watching in awe at the colored smoke that rose to the top of the covered beaker, and Sherlock was standing by with a happy smile on his face. He explained what was happening, and all the while, Morgan wrote notes and answers down in her notebook.

The sight itself was both heartwarming and shocking to John and Greg, as they had never seen Sherlock like this before. It was strange, but strange in a good way. "Are we interrupting?" John asked with a smile. 

Morgan turned around. "Oh, hi Daddy!" 

"Sorry for running off." Sherlock said, removing his safty glasses. "Morgan needed help with her homework, so I gave her a better lesson." 

Greg cleared his throat in an attempt to hide his shock. "No, um... It's fine." 

Morgan Lestrade's eyes lit up. "Dad, it was super cool, you should have seen all of the cool stuff he showed me how to do." She beamed while she practically bounced around. 

Sherlock scoffed. "It was only a few mixtures, honestly." He replied, although his eyes were bright. 

"Seriously, Dad, Sherlock's like the cool uncle in the family." She turned and smile at the detective. "Can I hire you as my private chemistry tutor?" 

The detective nodded. "If you can keep up." He replied lightly. 

She handed him her phone for him to put in his number. "I'm putting you in as Severus Snape, just so you know." 

Sherlock looked confused, but John, who understood the reference, laughed. 

Greg cleared his throat again. "Sherlock, I have a case for you. It just came in and it's got to be at least an eight. Chelsea Polonsky was killed last night. Will you come?" 

"Sounds exciting. John, let's go." He threw his safety glasses on the counter and quickly ran out of the room. "Text me with questions if you have any, Morgan!" 

"I will, Sherlock, thanks!" She called back. 

***

On the cab ride to the scene, Sherlock was still smiling. John occasionally looked over to see the detective grinning like a giddy schoolboy out the cab window, and he felt a warm, happy feeling spread through his chest. "You know, what you did for Morgan was really nice, Sherlock." He said. 

"Don't be ridiculous, John. I was only helping her with her homework." He replied emotionlessly, although the smile didn't let up. 

"You could have just told her the answers." 

Sherlock scoffed. "She's a seventeen year old lesbian who wants to go to film school. She has no interest in chemistry. Giving her the answers wouldn't have helped her. She needed to be excited about it to learn it." 

There was a pause, then John spoke again. "Are really going to tutor her?" He asked. 

"I can teach her better than any of her actual teachers. Of course I'm going to tutor her. Besides..." He hesitated, but his smile only got bigger. "It helped with the boredom." 

John's chest felt warm, and he suddenly couldn't control the stupid, estatic grin that etched its' way across his face. Curling his fingers around the detective's own, he neglected to say another word, but was silently praising his boyfriend. Sherlock may have been a little rough around the edges, but he was no machine.

The man never ceased to amaze him, and that was _exactly_ why John Watson was so in love with Sherlock Holmes. 


End file.
